Raleigh, N.C.-based LaamScience Inc. (LSI) — a developer of specialty antimicrobial coatings for
medical textiles, air and water filtration, and floor and wall coverings — has submitted a
Premarket Notification 510(k) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to obtain permission to
market its antimicrobial-coated N95 respirator mask.
North Carolina State University College of Textiles Professor Stephen Michielsen and his
colleagues developed the antimicrobial technology used on the N95 mask, a disposable respirator for
use by healthcare workers and patients as protection from airborne infectious diseases. The outer
surface of the mask is coated in a permanently bonded dye compound that when exposed to visible
light, inactivates viruses and kills bacteria.
If the FDA grants clearance, LSI hopes to launch the N95 during the first quarter of 2009.
The mask will be the first in a series of medical textile products featuring Serqet™ antimicrobial
coatings.
November 4, 2008
